L4_Lex_Mean
.docLEXICAL MEANING: STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT
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WORD MEANING
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Reference, concept, sense.
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Motivation: onomatopoetic, morphological, semantic, etymological, phraseological.
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Types of meanings: grammatical vs lexical.
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LEXICAL MEANING
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Types of lexical meaning (nominative, syntactically conditioned, phraseologically bound).
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Nominative meaning (conceptual + associative).
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Connotational components.
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SEMANTIC STRUCTURE OF THE WORD.
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Types of semantic structures: monosemy, bisemy, polysemy, semantic diffusion.
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Polysemantic structure treated diachronically.
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Direct meaning (primary and derived).
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Secondary meaning (denotative and figurative).
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CHANGE/ SHIFT OF MEANING.
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Reasons and conditions for semantic shift.
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Paths of semantic development.
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Types of metaphoric shift.
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Types of metonymy.
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Outcomes or results of semantic shift.
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Semantic change in denotation.
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Extension vs restriction.
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Shift to opposite (enantiosemy).
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Semantic change in connotation:
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4.3.2.1. Pejoration vs amelioration.
4.3.2.2. Emotive intensification.
4.3.2.4. Change in social connotation: register shift.
RECOMMENDED READING
Arnold, Irina. The English Word. - Moscow: Vyshaja Shkola. 1986. – Ch. VII. Semantic Structure of English Words. P. 145. - 180.
Квеселевич Д.І., Сасіна В.П. Практикум з лексикології сучасної англійської мови: Навч. пос.- Вінниця: Вид-во “Нова книга”, 2001. – С. 52 - 66.
Антрушина Г.Б., Афанасьева О.В., Морозова Н.Н. Лексикология английского языка: Учебник для пед. вузов. – 3-е изд-е. - – М.: Дрофа, 2001. – C. 129 -165.
Rayevskaya N.M. English Lexicology. – Kiev.: “Vysca Scola”, 1979. Ch. 6, 7. Problems of Word Meaning. Semantic Transposition of Words. – P. 116 - 181.
MAIN CONCEPTS OF THE THEME:
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amelioration of meaning
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broadening of meaning
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conceptual nominative meaning
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connotative associative meaning
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dead metaphor
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degradation of meaning
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elevation of meaning
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emotive intensification
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enantiosemy
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etymological motivation
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extension of meaning
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figurative secondary meaning
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generalization of meaning
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grammatical meaning
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lexical meaning
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metaphor
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metonymy
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monosemy
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morphological motivation
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narrowing of meaning
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nominative lexical meaning
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onomatopoetic motivation
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pejoration of meaning
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phraseological motivation
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phraseologically bound lexical meaning
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polysemy
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primary direct meaning
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register shift
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restriction of meaning
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secondary meaning
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semantic diffusion
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semantic motivation
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semantic structure
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shift to opposite
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specialization of meaning
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stylistic associative meaning
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synecdoche
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synesthesia (Br. synaesthesia)
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widening of meaning
summed up as follows: lexico-grammatical variants of a word are its
variants characterized by paradigmatic or morphological peculiarities,
different valency, different syntactic functions; very often they belong
to different lexico-grammatical groups of the same part of speech. Thus
run is intransitive in I ran home, but transitive in I run this office.
Some of the variants demand an object naming some vehicle, or some
adverbials of direction, and so on.
All the lexical and lexico-grammatical variants of a word taken
together form its s e m a n t i c s t r u c t u r e or semantic paradigm.
Thus, in the semantic structure of the word youth three lexicogrammatical
variants may be distinguished: the first is an abstract
uncountable noun, as in the friends of one's youth, the second is a countable
personal noun 'a young man' (plural youths) that can be substituted
by the pronoun he in the singular and they in the plural; the third is
a collective noun 'young men and uomen' having onlv one form, that
of the singular, substituted by the pronoun they. Within the first lexicogrammatical
variant two shades of meaning can be distinguished with
tvo different referents, one denoting the state of being young, and the
other the time of being young. These shades of mean'ng are recognized
due to the lexical peculiarities of distr bution and sometimes are blended
together as in to feel that one's youth has gone, where both the time and
the state can be meant. These variants form a structured set because
they are expressed by the same sound complex and are interrelated in
meaning as they all contain the semantic component 'yroung' and can
be explained by means of one another.
No general or complete scheme of types of lexical meaning as elements
of a word's semantic structure has so far been accepted by linguists.
Linguistic literature abounds in various terms reflecting various points
of view. The following terms may be found with different authors: the
meaning is d i r e c t when it nominates the referent without the help
of a context, in isolation, i.e. in one word sentences:. The meaning is
f i g u r a t i v e when the object is named and at the same time characterized
through its similarity with another object. Note the word
characterized: it is meant to point out that when used figuratively a
word, while naming an object simultaneously describes it.
Other oppositions are c o n c r e t e : : a b s t r a c t ; m a i n/
p r i m a r y : : s e c o n d a r y ; c e n t r a l : : p e r i p h e r i c ; n a r -
r o w : : e x t e n d e d; g e n e r a l : : s p e c i a l / p a r t i c u l a r,
and so on. One readily sees that in each of these the basis of classification
is different, although there is one point they have in common. In each
case the comparison takes place within the semantic structure of one
word. They are characterized one against the other.
Take, for example, the noun screen. We find it in its direct meaning
when it names a movable piece of furniture used to hide something or
protect somebody, as in the case of fire-screen placed in front of a fireplace.
The meaning is figurative when the word is applied to anything
which protects by hiding, as in smoke screen. We define this meaning
as figurative comparing it to the first that we called direct. Again,
when by a screen the speaker means 'a silver-coloured sheet on which
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